


Second Chance

by Avalyn



Category: Far Cry 4
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It, M/M, Post-Amita Victory, Post-Game(s), Pre-Slash, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-09-16
Packaged: 2018-04-21 00:25:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4807901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avalyn/pseuds/Avalyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ajay finds broken Sabal and brings hope with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Considering the canon, I’m not sure if this is worth warning about or not, but Sabal has some misogynistic thoughts about Amita in the beginning of the fic.
> 
> The song lyrics are from "Maybe Tomorrow is a Better Day" by Poets of the Fall.

Sabal is sitting on the ground in front of his tent, meditating. He has been doing so for the past two weeks although it doesn’t seem to be working: he is as far away from peace of mind as he was when he started. Still, he can’t give up on meditation because he doesn’t know what else to do. His whole life is in pieces.

_(How can I brace myself for razor blades on whips_  
_When everything with meaning is shattered, broken, screaming_  
_And I'm lost inside this darkness and I fear I won't survive)_

First came anger, hot and all-consuming. How did Ajay dare to choose Amita over him? Amita! She is nothing but a power-seeking whore who is ever too ready to sell all her values to the highest bidder. She doesn’t care the least bit about Kyrat, its culture or people; she just wants to fulfill her personal visions, no matter what. She doesn’t deserve leadership, she doesn’t deserve anything but being put in her place!

Next came disappointment, tinted with disbelief. How could Ajay betray him at the last minute, after everything they had shared? Doesn’t he remember that it was Sabal who saved him twice, first when he had just arrived in Kyrat and second when he was wandering lost in the mountains after escaping from Durgesh? Sabal had thought they were friends!

Last came sorrow, quiet and resigned, and it’s still keeping him company, unlike anger and disappointment. Whenever he allows himself to think about the future of his motherland even briefly, his heart begins to weep. Amita is making sure that there will be tears and crying instead of smiles and laughter in Kyrat. 

Sabal sighs and changes his position a bit. His legs and back are killing him and he really should eat something but he isn’t ready to stop meditating so his body simply has to endure for a while longer still.

_(I could pray and trick with a double tongue, but the only fool here's me)_

Sabal has had more than enough time to think back on everything and it has led him to understand why Ajay did what he did. He has realized he was becoming ruthless and cruel. All that sudden, unlimited power was quickly turning him into someone he never wanted to become. 

It’s incredibly painful to admit but if Ajay had remained loyal to him till the end, Kyrat would probably not be much better off than it is now under Amita’s rule.

Sabal sends a quick prayer to the gods on the behalf of Kyrat and its people. May the gods save them for the Golden Path obviously couldn’t.

_(This day will die tonight and there ain't no exception  
We shouldn't wait for nothing to wait for)_

He has thought about leaving. He could easily cross the border to India and continue wherever he likes to. He has given Kyrat everything, his whole fucking life, and for what? For being called a traitor for the rest of his life? For hiding in the wilderness like an animal? For eventually dying alone, forgotten, disgraced?

There is absolutely nothing for Sabal in Kyrat anymore. And yet he can’t seem to leave his home country behind and start new somewhere else where nobody knows either his face or his deeds.

Maybe he is still secretly thinking he can do something for Kyrat. 

Maybe he is still secretly thinking this can’t be all the gods have in store for him. 

Maybe he is still secretly thinking Ajay will come and fix everything.

But the truth is that he can do absolutely nothing and that nobody will come. He will remain like this: empty, broken shell of the proud, strong-willed man he used to be. That’s all there is.

_(Against all this I contrast you, when all is lost the war is through)_

“Sabal.”

He slowly opens his eyes and raises his head. What he sees makes him doubt he is either dreaming or hallucinating. Ajay is standing in front of him in his green jacket and dark blue jeans, AK-47 slung over his shoulder and a frown on his handsome face.

“Ajay. Hi,” Sabal says. His voice is hoarse from lack of use. There has been nobody to talk to in more than two weeks, not since he left the cabin with bitter words directed to the man currently standing in front of him. He wonders if he should ask if Ajay has changed his mind and decided to kill him after all, but then he realizes he doesn’t really care one way or the other. Losing everything has also made him lose the fear of dying. If Ajay wants to shoot him, he can go ahead with it.

Ajay reaches behind his back, takes a water bottle from his backpack and holds it out for him. Apparently, the younger man isn’t going to kill him. Sabal accepts the bottle and drinks greedily. He hadn’t registered how thirsty he was. 

“I killed Amita. She was enforcing slavery and continuing drug trade,” Ajay informs him.

Sabal just nods. He is past childish i-told-you-so’s.

“I kind of thought she would do that but I wanted to give her a chance to prove me wrong,” Ajay continues. 

“But you didn’t want to give me that same chance?” Sabal’s voice breaks slightly when he half asks and half states it. So much for being past feeling hurt over this whole mess.

“May I sit?” Ajay asks instead of answering.

“I don’t think I’m in the position to stop you from doing so. You’re the armed one, not me,” Sabal points out.

Ajay doesn’t sit. He just looks at him, waiting. 

Sabal relents. “Be my guest.”

Ajay slides the assault rifle and the backpack off his shoulders, lays them on the ground and sits down beside the former leader of the Golden Path. They are silent for a while, both looking at the snowy mountains looming on the horizon instead of each other. Then Ajay begins to talk.

“I couldn’t have killed you if you had turned out to be nothing but another dictator, like she did. That’s why I couldn’t risk it. I didn’t switch sides because I thought she would be a better leader for this country than you. I did it because I realized I would be able to shoot her if she ended up becoming a monster.”

“You were right. I would have become a monster,” Sabal admits quietly, still staring at the mountains.

“We will never know it for sure. But you were changing, and not for the better.”

Sabal is quiet for a long moment. Then he finally turns to look at Ajay and says, “Thank you for saving me from myself. I couldn’t live with myself if I had been the one to make Kyrat an even worse place than Pagan. I thought you betrayed me because you weren’t really my friend, but now I realize that you did it because you were a truer friend than anyone I have ever known.”

“I’m not sure I deserve your thanks. My actions seem to have hurt you even more than I thought they did. I’m very sorry for that.”

“Don’t be. They weren’t your actions that hurt me, they were my own.”

“Still, I wish it would have gone differently. I never wanted to point a gun at your face.”

“I know.”

Silence. Sabal raises the bottle to his lips and drinks some more water, gazing at the mountains once again. Kyrat is a magnificent country with breath-taking nature, unique culture and good, hard-working people. It doesn’t deserve to fall under dictatorship again, but that is what will probably happen, even if Amita is dead now. Someone else will fill her shoes, take over and become a new Pagan. The civil war will never end.

As if sensing the negative direction Sabal’s thoughts are taking, Ajay opens his mouth again. “I didn’t only come here to explain and apologize. I have an idea, and I think it will work.”

Sabal turns back to his friend, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“I think we can save Kyrat. Together.”

Sabal frowns. “How on earth could we do that?”

“Kyrat needs democracy. That’s why we will go to Banapur and start organizing elections in which every adult can vote for the future they want,” Ajay explains, clearly excited about his idea.

“That’s never going to work. Those who are fighting for power as we speak are not going to want any elections,” Sabal argues.

“Probably not. But when you and I, the two men who freed Kyrat from Pagan Min and the Royal Army, are demanding elections, I don’t think anyone dares to stand against us.”

Sabal sighs. “You’re so naïve. Even if we managed to organize elections, somebody would just disregard the result and take control of Kyrat by force.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” Ajay states firmly. “Not when they know that if they did, the Golden Path would become active once more and destroy them as efficiently as it destroyed Pagan and his commanders. Many are still loyal to you, Sabal, even though they weren't brave enough to stand against Amita. People haven’t forgotten how you fought for their freedom and inspired them to do the same. They miss you and will be thrilled to know you aren’t dead after all.”

“Really?” It’s barely more than a whisper. Sabal desperately wants to believe Ajay but is afraid of doing so for nothing is more dangerous than hope.

“Yeah, really,” Ajay confirms, voice soft like he was talking to a small, frightened child instead of a former rebel leader. And maybe he is, in a way.

Sabal closes his eyes against sudden tears. It’s all he ever wanted to hear: that his sacrifices didn’t go unnoticed and that his people love him in spite of his shortcomings. 

Ajay shuffles closer and wraps his arms around him. It breaks the last wall and Sabal begins to cry in earnest. He can’t even remember when he was last hugged. It must have been years ago.

_(Let me love you in this fable, hold your heart in my hand_  
_Our time is waiting right outside your door_  
_And maybe tomorrow is a better day)_

When he has finally stopped crying, Ajay smiles at him tentatively and asks, “Will you do that? Will you save Kyrat with me?”

“Yes,” Sabal answers, and with that one word both he and Kyrat have a future again.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm currently thinking about writing a longer sequel to this story. We shall see what happens.
> 
> Edit: Because my best friend is awesome, there is now [fanart](http://otakucroco.deviantart.com/art/Second-Chance-563942031) to enjoy. Thank you so much, Croco!


End file.
